Deck 51: The New Asia

Question 1

Agree or disagree: "Japan is an inspiration to other Asian nations. They would be well advised to follow the path to glory paved by the Japanese people."

Answer 1

The statement that Japan is an inspiration to other Asian nations can be agreed upon to a significant extent. Japan's remarkable transformation from a feudal society into a modern industrial powerhouse, especially after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and its post-World War II economic miracle, have indeed served as a model for development and growth for many countries around the world, including those in Asia.
Japan's advancements in technology, its strong work ethic, emphasis on education, and its ability to blend tradition with modernity are aspects that have been admired and emulated. The country's leadership in industries such as automobile manufacturing, electronics, and robotics, as well as its cultural exports like anime, manga, and cuisine, have also contributed to its status as a source of inspiration.
Furthermore, Japan's commitment to peace and its pacifist constitution, along with its contributions to global issues such as climate change and disaster relief, have earned it respect on the international stage.
However, the notion that other Asian nations would be "well advised to follow the path to glory paved by the Japanese people" is more contentious. While there are certainly lessons to be learned from Japan's successes, each nation has its own unique historical, cultural, and socio-economic context. What worked for Japan may not be directly applicable to other countries with different circumstances.
Moreover, Japan has faced its own set of challenges, such as economic stagnation during the "Lost Decade," an aging population, and issues related to work-life balance. These challenges are a reminder that no single model of development is flawless or universally applicable.
In conclusion, while Japan's achievements can serve as an inspiration, it is important for each nation to critically assess which aspects of Japan's experience might be beneficial to adopt and adapt according to their own specific needs and conditions. Collaboration and learning from each other's strengths are key, rather than a wholesale emulation of another country's path.

Question 2

The poorest country on the Indian subcontinent is

A) India.
B) Pakistan.
C) Tibet.
D) Bangladesh.
E) Nepal.

Answer 2

Bangladesh.

Question 3

One of the most important reasons given for Japan's postwar success is

A) the high degree of Japanese savings.
B) governmental support for business enterprises.
C) the Japanese work ethic.
D) help from the International Monetary Fund.
E) an excellent school system.

Answer 3

governmental support for business enterprises.

Question 4

According to Mao, the Soviet leadership after Stalin

A) gave too much assistance to North Vietnam, and not enough to China.
B) abandoned the true path of Marxism.
C) was too extreme in its application of Communist principles.
D) tried to undermine the Chinese economy.
E) created tension between Communists and the free world.

Question 5

What caused the split between the Soviet Union and Communist China? Analyze the consequences of this rift, especially with regard to American strategy.

Question 6

India and Pakistan have been at odds with each other the most over

A) the Punjab.
B) Bhutan.
C) Kashmir.
D) Myanmar.
E) Bannan.

Question 7

Put the Vietnam conflict into perspective. What were the local and the global implications of the struggled in Southeast Asia, 1945-1975?

Question 8

After the United States ended its occupation of Japan, the Japanese people

A) expressed their deep hatred of the Americans.
B) accepted American economic dominance over their country.
C) refused to ratify a proposed treaty between the two countries.
D) requested that the Americans establish military bases to protect them.
E) signed a treaty that provided U.S. military protection for their islands.

Question 9

Indian political orientation under Nehru and the Congress party might best be described as

A) Marxist socialism.
B) liberal democracy.
C) fascist corporatism.
D) democratic socialism.
E) parliamentary democracy.

Question 10

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by members of what extremist group?

A) Sikhs
B) Tamils
C) Sinhalese
D) Muslims
E) Kashmiris

Question 11

In the aftermath of World War II,

A) Japan was forced to unseat its emperor.
B) Japan had a native civilian government operated under American supervision.
C) General MacArthur treated the Japanese much like the Germans were treated after World War I.
D) the Japanese turned their backs on their native religion.
E) the Japanese experienced a lengthy recession.

Question 12

Describe the impact of Deng Xiaoping. How far and in what manner has China strayed from Maoist policies since 1976?

Question 13

Failure to simultaneously wage the Vietnam War and the War on Poverty contributed to the downfall of the presidential administration of

A) Johnson.
B) Ford.
C) Eisenhower.
D) Nixon.
E) Carter.

Question 14

Describe the formation and dynamics of the Peoples' Republic of China under Mao Zedong, 1949-1976.

Question 15

Assess the progress of the new Japan, 1952 to the present. In what ways has traditional Japanese society been preserved? In what ways has it been altered?

Question 16

The United States became involved in Vietnam during the presidency of

A) John F. Kennedy.
B) Lyndon Johnson.
C) Harry Truman.
D) Richard Nixon.
E) Dwight Eisenhower.

Question 17

Describe contemporary Southeast Asia. What sort of future do you envision for this region?

Question 18

Compare and contrast the problems and development prospects for India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh since the fall of colonialism.

Question 19

Mao was convinced that the only path to successful Marxist socialism lay through the

A) small shopkeepers.
B) Communist party elite.
C) urban manufacturing laborers.
D) revolutionary peasantry.
E) organized government.

Question 20

The Great Leap Forward

A) markedly increased China's agricultural production.
B) tried but failed to transform China into an industrialized society.
C) led to the re-establishment of relations between the United States and China.
D) was strongly supported by the Soviet Union, since it mimicked their Five Year Plans.
E) led to the deaths of many intellectuals.

Question 21

China's attempt to make itself industrially independent of outside aid during the 1950s is called the

A) Red Guard challenge.
B) China First movement.
C) Great Five-Year Plan.
D) Great Leap Forward.
E) Self-Strengthening movement.

Question 22

India's second leader, Jawaharlal Nehru, differed from its first, Mahatma Gandhi, in that he believed

A) India needed to work harder to reach an agreement with Pakistan over Kashmir.
B) Western-style industrialization was the way for India to avoid social anarchy at home.
C) true Marxism was preferable to following in the socialistic steps of the strongly disliked British Labour Party.
D) lowering the rate of population increase would be as helpful to India's development as anything else.
E) a nuclear attack against Pakistan would be disastrous for India.

Question 23

Economically speaking, the most prosperous areas of Southeast Asia are the city-states of ____________________ and ____________________.

Question 24

In 1989, a democratic student protest against the Chinese government was violently crushed at ____________________ ____________________.

Question 25

During the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union

A) tried to aid the insurgents in every way possible.
B) consistently tried to bring peace by acting as middleman.
C) took a bystander's role rather than assisting the insurgents.
D) healed the conflict with China, to assist Ho Chi Minh.
E) chose to support Cambodia but not Vietnam.

Question 26

For a time during the Cultural Revolution, one could easily obtain a government position by

A) appealing to Mao personally.
B) memorizing the Thought of Chairman Mao in the little red book .
C) spending two years in the Red Guards.
D) both a and b
E) both a and c

Question 27

Which of these did not help Japan achieve economic prosperity after World War II?

A) Being able to purchase cheap oil for years after the war ended
B) Being protected by the U.S. military and thus being able to invest what would have been spent on a military.
C) The high rate of savings among its citizens that allowed for loans and reinvestment in industry
D) A declining population that meant less food had to be purchased
E) A disciplined and skilled labor force

Question 28

The greatest long-term problem for Southeast Asia is

A) financial inexperience.
B) Marxist ideology.
C) population growth.
D) AIDS.
E) lack of investment capital.

Question 29

The war in Vietnam began as a\an ____________________ ____________________ against ____________________ colonialism.

Question 30

In 1997, China regained control of which of the following?

A) Taiwan
B) Singapore
C) Macao
D) Hong Kong
E) Manchuria

Question 31

Farm communes in Mao's China

A) were much too large to be effective.
B) were established along the lines of the traditional Chinese village.
C) caused the peasants to question Mao's policies.
D) produced more rice than the same number of people farming separately could have.
E) provided good steady work for the young people, who continued to be Mao's strongest supporters.

Question 32

In comparison to most former leaders of China, perhaps Mao's most unusual attitude was

A) love of the land.
B) dependence on the peasantry to support him.
C) a sense of unity with the Soviet Union.
D) a strong distrust of all intellectuals.
E) acceptance of China's important role in world affairs.

Question 33

The greatest tension between China and the United States exists because of

A) an aviation accident that forced a U.S. Navy fighter plane to land on China's Hainan Island.
B) American outrage at the massacre in Tiananmen Square.
C) American support for an independent Taiwan and China's determination to hold the island.
D) China's distrust of the United States for ongoing involvement in Southeast Asia.
E) American admonitions that China must improve its human rights record.

Question 34

The ____________________ ____________________ used the thought of Chairman Mao to spearhead their radical revolutionary campaign.

Question 35

Upon attaining power, Mao modeled China's government and institutions upon those of the USSR under the rule of ____________________ .

Question 36

In Southern India, conflict between the ____________________ and ____________________ resulted in the 1991 assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Question 37

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

A) aimed to undo the bureaucracy that had crept into Mao's communist regime.
B) targeted the intellectuals Mao so distrusted.
C) witnessed the burning of thousands of books from libraries in China's largest cities.
D) provided funds for the children of poor peasants to attend university.
E) only lasted for one five-year term.

Question 38

Since attaining independence, India has

A) been a military dictatorship.
B) maintained a large degree of democracy.
C) been steadily at war with one or another of its neighbors.
D) become a single-party, quasi-fascist society.
E) established itself as one of the most autocratic nations in the world.

Question 39

By 1960, a split had occurred in the Communist world between Mao Zedong and Soviet leader ____________________.

Question 40

Which of the following statements was not true of Deng Xiaoping?

A) He had been a prisoner of the Cultural Revolution.
B) His most important achievement was to allow free market incentives.
C) He sought to improve relations with foreign capitalists and to bring investment capital into the country.
D) He vowed to take China forward, past "normal" socialism, into a bright future.
E) He began to allow more freedom of expression, but he ordered the massacre of demonstrating students in 1989.

Question 41

Mao's ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ ____________________ was aimed first against the ____________________, rather surprisingly.

Question 42

The "four little tigers" of the Pacific Rim, countries that are experiencing a great deal of economic success, are ____________________ ____________________, ____________________, ____________________, and ____________________ ____________________.

Question 43

India and Pakistan have a long-running feud over the region known as ____________________.